Zebra Mussels

My presentation will cover the effect Zebra Mussels have on our Great Lakes. Zebra Mussels have been in the United States roughly since 1988 and are believed to be brought by Russians boats. Since then, they have caused severe impacts on coastal wetlands, power plants, and municipal water supplies. An average female mussel can produce 100,000-500,000 times per year, because of this the mussels can also greatly affect the food chain since there will be less food for larval fish. Since Zebra Mussels have become such a serious threat to all of the Great Lakes, there are now prevention teams to teach boaters how to look to see if any mussels have attached to them to help prevent the spread even further.

4 thoughts on “Zebra Mussels”

Interesting how mussels, which seem so small and insignificant, can have such a large effect on our oceans. On top of that, the reproduction rate is insane. I wonder if any prevention methods to try and regulate mussels will arise soon.

I could not believe that these mussels made such a negative impact in our waters. The rate they reproduce, is no wonder why they spread so quickly. I always thought that mussels served a great purpose to our waters. Mussels are filter feeders and in turn would filter all impurities from the water. I was wrong. Thank you for opening my eyes to this problem. From now on I will be more cautious in checking for critters hitching rides with us.